Old English hamstede "home, town, village," from home (n.) + stead (q.v.). In U.S. usage, "a lot of land adequate for the maintenance of a family" (1690s), defined by the Homestead Act of 1862 as 160 acres. Hence, the verb, first recorded 1872. Homesteader also is from 1872.

Homestead

city, Miami-Dade county, southern Florida, U.S., in the fertile Redland district, about 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Miami. The region was inhabited by Tequesta and then Calusa Indians before their disappearance by the early 19th century. Established in 1904 after the arrival of the railroad from Miami, the city took its name from its location in the "homestead country," government land that was opened to homesteading in the late 1890s. It developed as a shipping centre for fruits and vegetables grown on the surrounding farmland. The city became an important agricultural-trading centre, the service centre for nearby Homestead Air Force Base, the headquarters for Everglades National Park (west and south of the city), and the gateway to the Florida Keys. Homestead was struck by three devastating hurricanes in the 20th century (1926, 1945, and 1992), but in each case the city was rebuilt; its economic prospects were hampered after the 1992 storm, however, by the restructuring of the air force base